New Bruce Springsteen Center on the campus of Monmouth University
Opening of Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music on the campus of Monmouth University on June 13, 2026 with director Eileen Chapman
They want an encore.
Michael Gould and son Michael Gould Jr. from Yardley, Pennsylvania were first in line Saturday, June 13 at the public opening of the new Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music on the campus of Monmouth University in Long Branch.
They weren’t done after more than three hours.
“Each exhibit, it really keeps your attention I feel,” said Gould Jr. “There was a lot of cool memorabilia, like the lyrics before the actual songs were written, the shirts he wore on the album covers. For ‘Born in the USA’ they had the whole get-up.”
That would include the jeans and the red cap.
“I feel like we need more time,” said Gould. “We’ve been here over three hours and we still need more time to absorb it all. Right at the beginning when they show you the (Thom Zimny movie starring Springsteen), that sets the stage for what you’re going to see.”
The two-story $50 million center has exhibition galleries, research archives, immersive interactive experiences, a performance theater, and a gift shop with exclusive Springsteen merch from all phases of the Boss’ career.
Downstairs tells the story of American music and upstairs it’s Springsteen and the E Street Band.
“It’s a beautiful center. The design is great and the exhibitions were carefully curated and super knowledgeable,” said Colleen Curtis of Sea Bright. “I love how they’ve incorporated music and sound throughout all of the exhibits, the Springsteen exhibits, and the American music exhibits. They got a great variety of pieces that are (from the Hard Rock International), so those are really fun to see and the Springsteen stuff is great.”
The center’s leadership includes Robert Santelli, executive director; Eileen Chapman, director; and Melissa Kozlowski, director of curatorial affairs. The wood-accented building was designed by Rick Cook of CookFox Architects, based in New York.
“Everything’s been running great, “ said Chapman on Saturday. “We’ve been bringing in 30 visitors every hour. Visitors get to see the film and then go into the galleries at their own leisure — they get to experience the galleries and all the interactives. Some folks have appointments in the archives so they go into the archives to look at the digitized items we have.”
Saturday was sold out at the center. Visitors, allotted approximately two hours per visit, are encouraged to sign up for a visit online but there are 10 open slots held each hour for walk ups.
The Springsteen galleriy received a new edition just in time for Saturday the opening.
“As we were constructing the Bruce Springsteen exhibit, Bruce through the decades, Bruce happened to visit and suggest that we include his Presidential Medal of Honor,” Chapman said. “We’re honored to have that here. It’s one of the most exciting pieces we’ve seen in this exhibit.”
Springsteen was bestowed the medal by President Barack Obama in 2016.
The merch includes new T-shirts ($45) for Springsteen’s pre-E Street Band, Steel Mill, who played Monmouth University, then Monmouth College, in the late ’60s and early ’70s. They, and others, are designed by Keith Fiore of Rogue Creative Designs. Jewelry by Krista Karagias of Red Bank’s Poor Cat Design, vinyl curated by Deejay Rich Russo, and books and posters are also offered.
“When we were thinking about this merch shop we wanted it to be something more unique than you would find in any other store,” Chapman said. “We wanted to make sure we had our own label in it and it was a great quality … We want to keep our merch unique. We don’t want it to be concert merchandise. We wanted it to be something they can only find here or our online store which just opened today.”
Visit shop.springsteencenter.org for the merchandise.
Springsteen attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Center on June 6 which followed a series of concerts on campus, including two Music America: The Songs That Shaped Us shows on June 4 and 5 starring Springsteen at the OceanFirst Bank Center.
The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at 382 Cedar Ave., Long Branch is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. everyday of the week except for Thursdays, when it is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Prices are $22 (adults); $20 (seniors); $16 (youth 7-17 and veterans); free for kids 6 and under, active military and Monmouth University students.
Visit springsteencenter.org for more information.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]
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